"Whadja Say?" Glossary

On this page, you will find a collection of all of the words and phrases that make up the "Whadja Say?" component of each episode of Feel Like You Belong. Items on this page are listed in alphabetical order. In the future a link will be provided to a specific moment where they were used in an episode.

In Bing’s church, these are congregation members who are elected to make spiritual leadership decisions.In some Christian denominations, they may be called elders.Depending on the denomination, they might be appointed from the congregation or may have spiritual training and official status (below a priest).

defected (from Cuba)

to escape a country without government permission

discriminated against

received unfair treatment

dispossession

having something taken away from you

Don’t create waves.

not making a fuss, problems, unwanted attention (Allusion to sailing: Don’t rock the boat.)

drafted me

chose me (through the selection process for new professional players) to play with their team

Dutch colony

territory under the political control of the Netherlands (as opposed to local control)

economic development

promoting (existing and new) businesses in the area

ended up

resulted without plan or guidance

entrepreneurship

must welcome creative business solutions

ethnic make-up

composition of people’s racial backgrounds

ethnically Chinese

Chinese by race (and maybe upbringing) but not by birthplace

Everything else is history.

The rest of the story is well known.

fabric of our country

basic nature, foundation of our country

Fidel Castro

Communist leader of Cuba from 1959-2008

filling station

gas station (where people fill their tanks)

flat world

the view that the world is a level playing surface for global commerce (cf. The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman)

flip a switch

suddenly turn something on (or off)

get to know

take time and begin to learn about someone (or something)

getting to know you

becoming better acquainted, learning about you

Go to the office!

Leave the classroom (to be punished in the school office).

gone so far as

have even done something like [this]

grassroots organizer

person who organizes everyday people to take action in their community (the roots of the grass implies from the ground up, not from the top down)

building which houses social and business support systems for international students, workers, and visitors

is all about

concerns, pertains to, relates to

janitor

employee responsible for maintenance and cleaning of a building

jumped through all the hoops

Bing’s dad jumped through all the hoops.He thought all his retraining was a normal part of the U.S. educational system. In the circus, animals are trained to perform tricks, including jumping through hoops, sometimes ones that are lit on fire.The tricks are not logical, but the animals have to do what the circus master tells them to do.

cities are sometimes divided by a railroad track, with poor people on one side and rich people on the other (this has become an idiom in English, so Lupe wanted us to know that there was really an actual railroad track dividing the Latinos and the Anglos in her hometown)

little-c culture

unseen aspects of culture: beliefs, values, attitudes

Lo and behold!

“Lo and behold, you ended up in West Michigan!”This is an old-fashioned expression.It means something surprising or amazing happened.It was surprising that this Chinese family having lived in Indonesia and the Netherlands had suddenly come to non-diverse West Michigan.

logistical location

practical, functional location

lugs of cherries

a lug is a container holding freshly picked produce

make fun of each other

teasing, joking with each other

Mex-Tex food

cooking style from the Texas-Mexico border region

migrant worker

worker who travels from one work site to another

monolingual

speaking just one language

municipal leadership

leaders of cities, towns, and counties

Native American

people from the tribal cultures of North America before the Europeans arrived

scheduled meetings where parents go to the school to meet teachers and talk about the progress of their children

Partners for Racism-Free Community

http://prfc-gr.org

pay back

return good deeds when you have received good deeds

peer out

look out (onto uncertain scene)

people of color

non-white citizens

picking produce

harvesting fruit and vegetables

poignant story

moving, sad, or touching story

poll tax

a tax created by some states to discourage poor people from voting

President Sukarno

President of Indonesia after independence from the Netherlands

psyche

a person’s total mindset, soul, and personality

real estate brokers

specially licensed agents to buy and sell property

recruit and retain

When looking to hire new people into jobs, HR officers have to attract workers to come live in the area (recruitment).If the new workers do not feel welcome, they will move away.It is equally important for leaders of companies and communities to make the new workers and their families feel like they belong (retention).

Rep. Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford represented West Michigan in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949-1973.He was named Vice President and later President of the U.S. when scandals forced the resignations of Spiro Agnew and Richard Nixon.

feel like you belong

Feel Like You Belong is a sometimes serious, sometimes funny, always “touch-your-heart” real conversation about fitting into the American culture. It introduces guests who have made the immigrant journey to the United States. The stories–of both struggle and success–will help newcomers feel more confident in sharing their opinions and expertise, more likely to want to stay in the U.S., be more productive in their jobs, and fully invest in their communities.